Can we resurrect "Veronica Mars"?

Though I never bothered to tune into "Jericho," I do have to give props to the show's fans. According to this morning's Variety, their almost constant harassment of CBS executives has led the network to bring the show back for at least seven episodes sometime next season.

Huzzah and kudos, but what does this mean for the show that I most miss (and the one that topped E!'s save one show poll by a wide margin), "Veronica Mars"? It could mean there's still hope for what we all thought was a goner.

Let's take a look, courtesy partly of AICN, at exactly where we are in this. At the same news conference announcing Veronica wouldn't be on the CW's fall schedule, Dawn Ostroff said no final decision had been made on a proposed new version of the series by creator Rob Thomas in which the title character, played by Kristen Bell, is at the FBI Academy.

And, according to TV Guide's Michael Ausiello, an even more devoted fan of "Veronica Mars" than yours truly, when he later talked to Ostroff, she confirmed that the deadline to make a decision is "somewhere around" June 15.

So, what does that really mean? It means there's hope. Though I've been called nuts on more than one occasion, I wouldn't recommend deluging the CW with them (as the Jericho-ites did.) Ostroff apparently already likes the show, and the revamped version pitched to her by show creator Rob Thomas. What we need here is a few minutes of your day to show your passion for great TV.

Here, courtesy of AICN, are the addresses of Dawn Ostroff and her boss at the CW, John Maata.

Dawn Ostroff
President of Entertainment
The CW Network
4000 Warner Boulevard, Bldg 168
Burbank, CA 91522-0002

John Maata
Chief Operating Officer
The CW Television Network
4000 Warner Boulevard, Bldg 168
Burbank, CA 91522-0002

And remember, lest you think this is Quixotic: "Jericho" isn't the only recent show to get revived from the graveyard. "Family Guy," after being abused by Fox for years, was rescued after fans bought up tons of the DVDs. So, please, if you like "Veronica Mars," take a few minutes out of your busy day to tell Dawn Ostroff why.

Music biopics gone mad

If I have this translated from the French correctly, there are no less than four biopics about Sammy Davis Jr. under consideration. Sheesh.

Now, don't get me wrong. The life of Sammy, and the casting options it opens up for the likes of his ratpack buddies, is certainly intriguing. But this sub-genre has just about wore out its welcome for me (although I'll certainly make an exception for Spike Lee if and when he ever gets to work on that James Brown flick.)

Anyways, here are the four options being looked at, according to cinempire.com:

In Black and White, based on the biography by Wil Haygood, would put Denzel Washington in Sammy's shoes.

Sammy and Kim would possibly star André 3000 and be directed by music-video guru Earle Sebastian. As the title implies, the flick would focus on Sammy's romance with Kim Novack (gratuitous glamour shot included.)

Yes, I Can, based on Sammy's autobiography by the same name, is being guided by producers Craig Zadan et Neil Meron, but no actor or director has been attached yet.

And, finally, Yes, I Can (redux): This one would be a documentary based, obviously, on the same book.

Of all these, option No. 2 sounds the most intriguing. André 3000 is a great song and dance man, a fact that he and the filmmakers somehow forgot when making the rather atrocious "Idlewild," and he certainly has the look just about right. Stay tuned to see what eventually comes out of all this madness.

Tom Waits and Terry Gilliam? I'm in

With his record of starting and having to abandon films it's sometimes hard to take Terry Gilliam seriously, but I still try desperately hard to. Especially when he's toying with something as crazy as this.

According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, via Filmick, he says Tom Waits and Heath Ledger will star in his next flick, "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus." Now, again, whether this means they've actually signed on for the movie or just that Gilliam wants them to, who knows, but it certainly opens up some interesting possibilities.

Here, as best as I can muster, is what the odd flick would be about: Dr. Parnassus is apparently a traveling magician/snake oil salesman. His trick is that lucky (or not-so-lucky) volunteers can enter and explore his mind, hence "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus." Just to give you a few more details, it turns out that Dr. Parnassus has made a bet with the devil himself, about whether people are more likely to choose the power of the imagination or the lure of material things, so when they enter the "imaginarium" they come to a fork in the road and have to make that choice.

Now, I can only imagine that Tom Waits (huzzah!) would play the Dr. himself. What that brief synopsis left out that is the Dr. has a younger traveling companion named Anton who introduces him at his shows. This part, Brendon at Filmick surmises, could go to Ledger.

Like I said, this may all be wishful thinking, but Gilliam's already apparently completed a script for this. And besides, isn't wishing just so much more fun than thinking about just another Wednesday? Dream with me, people. Peace out.